Gaara Sakura fanfiction: Childhood & Chunin Exams Arc
by Love5891
Summary: A 6 year old girl named Sakura Haruno meets Gaara of the Desert. They soon became friends and spends more time with each other at the park everyday while her parents were away on a mission to the Land of Rice. Few days later, Sakura and her parents moved back to Konoha, leaving her childhood memories behind. What happens after she left Suna? What will happen at the Chunin Exams?
1. Meeting Each Other

Note: This story is continuous onto the next chapters after Childhood Arc was completed. The Chunin Exams Arc I'm writing is progressing.

I'm specifically working on drawing/colouring the scenes of Childhood. I'll also draw new scenes of Gaara and Sakura by adding it on the Chunin Exams, which is based on the manga. (I'm interested in writing/drawing fanfics and art because some authors had stopped writing stories). It's best if I can make this happen. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the parts of the story "Angel of the Sand, Yours, The Demon's Cherry Blossom, and etc." I have to rewritten it to make it look fine.

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Chapter 1: MEETING EACH OTHER

It was bright and sunny day outside, the clouds were swiftly drifting away as time passes when a young girl with pink hair walked down the street towards the park. Along the way, she saw some group of kids playing soccer and walked over to them.

"Excuse me, may I p-play with you?" She asked, putting up with some confidence.

"You...play with me? Hmm, don't make me laugh. Nobody wants the pink-haired freak with a huge forehead. Besides, you can't just ask me or any of my friends to play with you because you're a freak and a loser," a boy with brown hair and blue eyes said rudely.

On the other side of the park area, a boy with a red hair overheard the conversation between the girl with pink hair and the kid, who was practically scowling at her harshly as the group of kids surrounding them in a circle, waiting to see what was happening.

_"Never seen her before," he thought._

_**"Well kid, if you look around your dad's office, you would see that a family moved here from the leaf village. Why don't we stay and see what happens," the inner demon said.**_

Suddenly, Sakura hit the boy right in the nose, who threw his hands up to stop the bleeding.

_"She hit him!" Gaara thought surprisingly._

_**"I told you stay. Why would you ever doubt me?" Shukaku said, placing his paw over his heart.**_

_"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you destroyed my life," Gaara thought, getting annoyed by his inner demon._

As he looked back over to the kids, he saw the boy going to hit Sakura with his fist. Gaara, on the instinct, made his sand go to the boy and slammed him into a wall, who got knocked out cold. All the kids saw Gaara fearfully and ran away, which made him sad, but didn't show it. Sakura, on the other hand, turned around and looked at him with curiosity.

_"Now she's going to run too," Gaara thought sadly._

_**"Hang on their kid. Look in her eyes," Shukaku said.**_

Gaara looked at the girl and into her eyes. He looked really hard and saw no fear.

"Did you lay off that boy, who was going to hit me?" Sakura asked.

Gaara looked around to see if she was talking to someone else, but nobody was there.

"Are you talking to me?" Gaara asked, pointing at himself; feeling surprised.

"Well, yeah. Who else is there, silly," she said, shrugging.

It was an understatement to say that Gaara was surprised. There isn't even a word for how shocked he was. Nobody ever talked to him, but now...

_**"See kid, she didn't run... now, did she?" Shukaku questioned.**_

"My name is Sakura Haruno. Thanks for stopping that boy," she said with a warm smile on her face. She held out her hand to offer a shake of greeting.

"My name is Gaara," he said and just looked at her hand as a bomb or something.

"I won't hurt you, I promise," she said sweetly.

When Gaara reached over and took her hand, their hands made a contact as he closed his eyes for a second until he realized that nothing bad happened. Although, it made their hands feel warm. It felt like a bit longer until they let go.

Gaara smiled so big, he thought his lips were going to split.

"So... may I play with you?" Sakura asked kindly.

"Yeah," Gaara said very happily and excitedly, grabbing her arm and ran towards the playground. He pulled her onto one of the swings and sat on another one. He began swinging back and forth; just when he noticed her just sitting there.

"Aren't you going to swing?" He asked.

"Well...I don't know how to," she said shyly.

"It's okay, I'll show you," he said as he stood up straight and walked up behind her. Grabbing the chain to her, he pulled her away softly and pushed her high up.

Sakura was surprised that Gaara was pushing her on the swings. She suddenly smiled, almost as big as Gaara's. She laughed as Gaara laughed along with her.

For the first time in his life, Gaara was happy and Shukaku didn't say a thing the rest of the time with Sakura. They had been playing all day until they got tired and exhausted. They were lying under the stars on the rooftop when Sakura realized it was dark and starting to get cold. She opened up with big eyes and asked, "What time is it?" In a panic tone of her voice.

"Well, I'm guessing maybe 8:00," Gaara said, confused by her action.

"Oh no! I was suppose to be home at 7:00 and eat dinner with my auntie," she said, freaking out. "I'll come back tomorrow, I promise," she bent down and gave him a quick hug.

"Okay, only if you come back to the swings at 9:00 in the morning," he said, hugging her back.

"I will," she said, giving him a smile and headed down to her home while Gaara went back to his home also, and started thinking about how much fun he had with Sakura. She was the first person who interacted with him.


	2. Sakura's Side Story

CHAPTER 2: SAKURA'S SIDE STORY

The next day, Gaara was sitting on the swing, holding his teddy bear with him and watching the kids play soccer and others play tag, hide & seek until Shukaku spoke in his mind.

**_"You know kid, ever since you met that girl Sakura, why don't you start giving her a nice present...like...um...your teddy bear," Shukaku said in out-of-character-ish way._**

_"That's a great idea. Now that I have Sakura to play with, I could give her away my teddy bear, but I don't know if she would like it though," Gaara thought._

_**"Doesn't matter. As long as you give her a present, she will be your friend. Trust me," Shukaku said.**_

_"Why are you helping me?" Gaara asked thoughtfully._

_**"Because I can't stand you being sad, lonely, and ignored by others," Shukaku sighed heavily.**_

_"Isn't it weird that you've said those nice things coming out of your mouth? Wow, I've never expected you become kind and soft," Gaara thought in a smugly way._

**_"Hey! I'm not becoming kind and soft. I was just trying to help you get close to the girl and be friendly with," Shukaku said, pouting angrily._**

_"Still, you are becoming kind and soft to me," Gaara thought._

_**"Hnn...why did I get stuck inside a cheeky brat like you," Shukaku questioned as he inwardly groaned, but Gaara ignored his question when he heard someone calling out his name.**_

"Gaara," a voice called out made him looked around to see the person running towards him. It was Sakura. Seeing her made his heart flutter through his chest, filling with joy and excitement. He got up from the swing, still holding his teddy bear.

"Hey, Gaara. Sorry to keep you waiting. I was finishing my breakfast," she said, as her cheeks turned pink.

"Oh I don't mind. After all, I've been thinking of giving you a present today," he said shyly, as he held his teddy bear in front of her made her gasped.

"Do you like it?" He asked softly when Sakura blinked and frowned a little.

"I don't like it. I love it," she said, giving him a big hug that made him felt surprised. When the idea struck Sakura, she quickly pulled away and said, "Oh! I didn't even give you one, but...," she thought about giving him the best present, so she quickly untied the ribbon off of her head and grab his wrist gently and tying it back on.

"There," she said happily.

Gaara looked at the ribbon for a moment and smiled, saying, "Thank you, Sakura," as he watched her giggle softly.

"Come on, let's play," she said, pulling his arm as she was leading him towards the playground and went on the swings. Few minutes later, the kid and his gang approached them with their shadow figures among them.

"Oh, check it out! The pink-haired freak is hanging out with the monster. How cute. Well, it looks like they've taken our spot in this playground," the boy with blue eyes said annoyingly as all the other kids started laughing at them and throw rocks at the same time. Just when Sakura counterattack by throwing small shurikens back at the stones between her fingers. The rocks fell on the ground in front of the kids, looking startled all of a sudden. Gaara, on the other hand, was truly amazed at how good she threw at their attack.

_**"Wow, what a perfect throw she did," Shukaku said and Gaara nodded in agreement.**_

"You guys better leave us alone and you have no right to call my friend like that," Sakura said, as she glared daggers at them. Gaara glanced at her quickly, still surprised by her words and action.

"It's true! That Gaara kid is a monster, he has a demon inside of him and kills people," the boy said, narrowing his eyes at him as all the kids agreeing to what he said. But Sakura just kept her fierce glare at them.

"What do you know about him, huh?! You're the ones that were treating him like a monster!" She said in a sharp tone of her voice. The kids gasped and muttered amongst each other.

"If you won't believe me for what I just said, then you're a fool," the boy said rudely and walked away with his gang, leaving them alone on the swings.

"Phew, that was close. I thought they were going to throw pebbles at us. Good thing they didn't," Sakura said, giggling but stopped to look at Gaara worriedly.

"What's wrong?" She asked, tilting her head on the side, only to see his lips trembling.

"The kid is right. I do have a demon inside of me. I kill people who gets in my way and attacks me for all cost. I'm nothing but a monster," Gaara said sadly. Sakura look him in the eyes for a moment and saw pain and sadness.

"You're not a monster. Just because you believe what they said... isn't true. I know that everyone treats you like that but they should understand that you're a human being. Not like they should treat you as if...you don't belong in this world. The greater pain you're carrying right now... don't worry, I'll take it away... you're not alone anymore, Gaara," she turned her attention away from the sky glancing at him and smiled, "You have a friend." With that said, it made Gaara swelled up almost into tears and happiness.

"Sakura, thank you," he said, smiling.

Sakura gave him a nod and look back up to the sky with a mix of different shades of colours; red, orange, yellow, pink, and purple. As she thought about his side story, she had known that Gaara's father brought Elder Chiyo to seal a demon inside of Gaara, just so his father can protect the village from Shukaku's (demon or tailed-beast) rampage, which other people tell stories to their families about. Despite people's fear and hatred towards Gaara, he tried desperately to be friendly towards them. All he wanted was to be accepted, needed and loved. That is what he wanted for his life.

"So, umm... Sakura, I was wondering... if we could get to know you and...well... get to know each other a little," he said.

"Oh, well...I lived in the Hidden Leaf Village; Konoha and my parents named me after a flower because of my natural pink hair," she told him as she pointed her finger at her head.

"That's nice," he commented when she glanced at him quickly with a light blush on her cheeks and asks; "You really think so?"

"Yeah," Gaara nodded as Sakura started giggling.

"What's so funny?" He asked, puzzled for a moment.

"Oh... it's just that I never had a friend who complimented me," she said.

"Never?" He asked.

"No," she said, shaking her head and spoke, "Back in the leaf village...I was walking down the park where all the other kids were playing and then...when they saw me...they started making fun of my forehead and kept calling me names like 'billboard brow' or 'pink-haired freak.' I tried ignoring them and run away from them, but they wouldn't stop following me. Everywhere I go, they treated me like some kind of an ugly person who is lower than others... and I don't like being bullied or being tease at. The reason why I came here is to make new friends, which I never had any," she frowned at the memory and looked away sadly.

"That's terrible. It must've been horrible for you getting bad attention and calling you nicknames, and that's bullying. I know it's hard to make new friends here...if others were treating you badly then they're disrespectful and wrong... because deep inside of you...you're not ugly or lower. In fact, you're beautiful," he genuinely smiled at her.

"Really?!" She asked surprisingly at his words which made her blush.

"Yes, really. They're jealous because you're beautiful and smart. You don't have to worry about making new friends, we have each other right now. And there will come a day when the two of us together will have lots of friends who can be trusted," he said. It made her feel heart-warming on the inside and began to understand him. They were smiling at each other warmly and feel comfortable themselves.

Gaara and Sakura are getting pretty close now. It made them realized that their fate brought them together which meant something special and that they were very thankful for. It was the beginning of their beautiful friendship.


	3. Friendship

Note: If you haven't read my profile. You should know that I was inspired by some GaaSaku stories; Yours, The Demon's Cherry Blossom, Angel of the Sand, and etc.

Anyway, read and review. :)

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CHAPTER 3: FRIENDSHIP

The next morning, Gaara and Sakura met each other at the park and the two of them played for hours together. They haven't realized that the passage of time had been greatly passed until their stomachs began to growl. They looked up the sky and saw the sun shining through a hole of cloud clover, lighting up everywhere.

"Wow! It's getting bright," exclaimed Sakura, covering her eyes.

Gaara nodded at her response and ask kindly, "do you want to go eat lunch with me?"

"Sure! I would love that," she said, as her stomach growled and blushed in embarrassment.

"Come on," he said excitedly and smirk at her blush that appeared on her cheeks. As he grab her hand and pulled her with him, they started running on the street until they reached towards the dumpling bar called "Kabe Hana" (The Wallflower). Right now, it was 12 o'clock daytime.

"These dumplings are delicious," Sakura said, taking another bite of it.

Gaara chuckled, he couldn't help but continue to stare at her adoringly and said,"I told you, you would love to taste these dumplings," he took the last bite of his dumplings then look up to see the clouds drifting away.

"The weather is nice today," he commented.

"Yeah," she agreed, staring the sky as well. Just when a cloud shape caught her attention.

"Look, that cloud is a shape of a heart," she said, pointing at it with her finger and smiled.

"I never seen such a beautiful cloud shape like that, especially not from here," Gaara said honestly, his eyes widened in amusement.

"What? You're kidding me," she glanced at him as her eyes widened slightly.

"No. I'm not. I never seen like that in my life... but now," he said, honestly.

"Hmm-mm," she nodded in response, and then they turned to watch the clouds drift away.

After they finished eating, they decided to go for a walk and leave the money on the table as soon as they left. An hour later, they arrived at the park when they saw an older boy with a brown-spiked hair playing soccer with his friends including a blond girl with four ponytails.

"Who are they?" Sakura asked, pointing at the older boy and girl.

"Those two are my older siblings," Gaara replied.

"Oh...they sure are into this game," she commented. They watched them play with their friends, which made Gaara feel a bit jealous sometimes. Despite the others offending him directly, not every single one of them ever cared for him because of what the tailed beast did to the village.

"Are you feeling alright, Gaara?" Sakura asked.

"Y-yeah...I'm fine," he said, smiling reassuringly at her, as if there was no problems at all.

Sakura just blinked at him for a moment, but quickly paid attention to the game they were watching. Still, she saw pain and jealousy written all over his face from the corner of her eye. She was about to ask him what was wrong, but decided not to. He could at least tell her what was bothering him just recently.

Hours past, Gaara and Sakura played many games like soccer, hide & seek, tag, guess that animal, and sometimes just sat and talked. Gaara was having the time of his life, he wasn't alone anymore. When he was near Sakura, Shukaku's voice seemed to disappear in his head. Right now, Sakura was currently sitting on the rooftop beside him and ask,"Gaara, can you please tell me what's really been bothering you?"

Gaara's head went down a little and spoke quietly, "it's just... watching my older siblings play with their friends makes me jealous."

Sakura stared at him for a moment and said, "I know how you feel."

"You do?" He asked.

"Hmm-mm," she nodded and look up the sky and spoke, "you see...while I was back in Konoha with my parents, I always watched those kids play in the park everyday and it made me feel left out. Sometimes,I tried to fit in with the others, but they never acknowledge me. And that's why... I never had any friends...not even one. It's like I've been trapped in the empty place where no one could see me, like I'm invisible, now...I see a new light. They say a person just needs three things to be truly happy in this world. Someone to love, something to do, something to hope for."

_"I understand now," Gaara thought._

"Here," said Sakura as she placed the leave and thread around the ribbon on his wrist, tying to knot properly,"I made you a friendship bracelet with the heart shape on it. The leave will not die as long as you keep it on and remember our friendship and the time we spent together," she smiled warmly at him as he smiled back.

Gaara also made her a friendship bracelet out of sand, which its automatically written in LOVE and tied on her wrist.

"Here is a friendship bracelet, I made it for you and it will keep its own shape and will never be broken," he said.

Sakura stared at it and glanced back at him, saying, "thank you... Gaara," with a sparkle in her eyes.

"Me too," he said, as the gentle breeze hit their faces of warmth and happiness. They continued watching the nice view of the autumn sky.


	4. 2 weeks later

CHAPTER 4: 2 WEEKS LATER

"So, Gaara made a new friend...," the 4th Kazekage said, while looking out of the window.

"I believe so," an ANBU ninja said and continued speaking, "apparently, he seems to be much happier now. Ever since he met the girl, things went calm every single day. Instead of those kids running away from him, he finally found someone who can acknowledge him."

"Hmm...that's unexpected, don't you think?" The 4th said, curiously.

"I suppose... yes, it is," the ninja replied.

"Who is his new friend," he asked.

"Sakura Haruno-"

"From the Haruno family?" The 4th asked when the ninja nodded in reply, "yes."

"How is she?"

"She's fine. Frankly, I've been watching her spend time with Gaara last 2 weeks. They're certainly enjoying each other's company and they've been closely attached since the two of them became friends. Though she doesn't seem to be frightened by him at all, unlike the others. However, Miss Haruno doesn't live in this village."

"True...as long as her parents completed the mission, there's no point of them staying here much longer. The 3rd Hokage has been sending me letters lately about the mission that Mr. and Mrs. Haruno had been assigned. They should definitely get back to the hidden leaf village. They might find out that their daughter is friends with my son, who is a jinchuriki. He can be quite unstable sometimes and mostly a threat to our village, so...I considered you to take a better care of him...Yashamaru. I'm counting on you."

"Yes...sir, I will," he said as he bowed down respectfully and left the office.

Leaving the tower, Yashamaru decided to go take a break at a sushi place while walking down at the street. He started thinking about what the 4th Kazekage expected him to do, which made things go troublesome this month of September, especially when it comes to other people around town as well. By the time Yashamaru went home, he walked inside the living room, only to find a note that was left on the table. It read saying,

_"Dear Yashamaru,_

_I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to talk to you this morning. I was so eager to meet my friend today, so I wish to speak to you by the time I get home._

_From: Gaara_"

As Yashamaru smiled kindly at the note he read, he thought of his nephew of having Sakura by his side, who means something important to Gaara. One thing that has been stuck in Yashamaru's mind was that Gaara and Sakura come from two different places. However, it doesn't change the fact that the two of them will get separated forever. What matters is that they have some sort of connection between them, more like... a special bond.

"Gaara... I'm glad you found someone who accepts you. Someday, you'll soon understand what love is," Yashamaru thought hopefully, as he placed down the note back on the table and headed upstairs to take a nap. Then one hour later, he had fallen asleep.

When Temari and Kankuro arrived home, they were arguing about 'scaring the little kids with ugly puppets and whatnot.'

"Jeez, Temari. You gotta chill a little. It was fun to see those little twerps' faces, they were surprised about the puppets I created. Ever since Lady Chiyo gave me the collection, I've been creating different puppet designs. And besides, I'm using it after I enter and graduate from the Academy to become the greatest ninja," he said arrogantly.

"Yeah, keep talking to yourself real big. You scared those poor little kids away and you called that "surprising?" Hmm...just as I thought of you doing something so stupid," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, it was my first try to see their reactions. I didn't know they were easily scared of my puppets. What a bunch of wimps," he remarked on that.

"Maybe when you get older, I bet that you would start harassing some little kids and threaten them, that's for sure," said Temari, giving un utter sigh, "come on, let's grab something to eat."

"Yeah,I'm starving," Kankuro said, rubbing his stomach as they headed towards the kitchen and take all the food that was left on the diner table, which Yashamaru had cooked for them earlier.

Meanwhile, Gaara and Sakura were playing "Hide & Seek" at the park for almost half an hour.

"Eighteen, nineteen, twenty! Ready or not, here I come!" Gaara called out and went off in search for his friend.

After searching her for several minutes, he got a big worried. If something happened to his friend and no sign of her whatsoever, things will get into a lot trouble. Until he heard a distant scream from outside the village, Gaara's eyes widened in fear, anxiety and panic. His heart was pounding fast, it made him scared of losing his best friend, so he ran back home to call his siblings for help. Running as fast as he could, his legs is non-stop. Arriving in time, he pushed the main door open, startling his two siblings to look at him blankly.

"Temari, Kankuro, my friend; Sakura is missing!" He yelled in an overwhelming fear.

"What do you mean she's missing?" Temari questioned.

"Well, we were playing 'hide & seek' at the park and she was the one hiding, so I search her for several minutes, just when I heard a scream," he explained it quickly.

"Probably a woman getting laid-" Kankuro said before getting whacked on the head by Temari's fan.

"You dim-wit! How could you think like that?! You weren't there at the park," she scowled at him.

"You don't have to hit me, I'm just saying," he said, rubbing the sore spot where Temari hit him.

"Stating your inappropriate opinion is not part of the issue of 'Sakura being missing.' What if she's in danger, Kankuro? She might have been kidnapped. This is no time for joking around," she said seriously with an irritated sigh.

Gaara clenched his fists tightly, feeling the anger fuming inside of him and spoke firmly, "if she's been kidnapped, then we have to save her. She's my only friend and I don't want to lose her," his head went down, thinking about Sakura sadly.

"Gaara...," Temari felt pity for him.

"I just... wanted to protect her... like she did to me and this is my chance of saving her. It's my turn now," he said.

"Don't worry, we'll help you save your friend; Sakura," Temari said, smiling kindly at him.

"Really? You guys would do that?!" He asked, hopefully.

"Absolutely, you're our little brother. After all, Sakura means something to you," she said.

"Yeah and what can we do for our little bro? We'll save your girlfriend," Kankuro said coolly and earned another whacked by Temari.

"You nitwit! He's too young for that sort of thing. Besides, Sakura is his BEST FRIEND," Temari said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Ow! Did you really have to hit me that hard?" He questioned, rubbing the sore spot again and pout. Temari just rolled her eyes at him as if she ever care.

"Come on, let's go after her," she said, smiling at his younger brother as he smiled back, appreciating the help he have from them. So the three of them left the house without telling Yashamaru or their father that they were going to save Gaara's friend.

It was 1 o'clock in the afternoon and Sakura had woken up just recently. She doesn't have any idea of where she is right now, but saw some trees and bushes surrounding her. Hearing a couple of voices, she turned her head on the left side and saw a few sand ninjas speaking in distinctly amongst themselves.

"Is he here yet?" The 1st ninja asked.

"No, but he will...later when he comes, we'll eliminate him right here in this forest," the 5th ninja said.

"Do you think the plan will work? I mean, kidnapping this girl will lure him here?" The 7th ninja questioned.

"Of course. The reason why we kidnapped this girl is for him to save her. It will put him into a trap...and he wouldn't survive for long," the 5th ninja said.

"Hopefully. Because this girl isn't even worth killing," the 2nd ninja snidely remark.

While the 4th ninja was hiding above the big tree branch, he was holding the telescope searching the sign of a red head, but none came yet.

"Hey, why don't we take a break?" The 3rd ninja asked.

"Yeah, we've been searching him for almost two hours," the 4th ninja said.

"I can't wait to kill that punk when I get my hands on him," the 6th ninja said arrogantly, as the others nodded in agreement.

"Now, don't get too hasty. It won't take long for us to wait here in this forest. After all, Gaara will soon be dead," the 5th ninja said.

Sakura's eyes widened in anxiety. It was shocked to hear that killing him won't do anything good, it will put him in a great danger. Having a thought of him being killed is selfish and cruel. There's no way that she will let her best friend get killed by these ANBU ninjas. Why would they try to assassinate him if he's part of the village? It's completely absurd.

By the following time, the three siblings had reached the forest as they moved on a quick pace, but Temari stopped immediately.

"Temari, what's wrong? Why did you stop?" Kankuro asked.

"Something's not right... I have a bad feeling about this," she said, narrowing her eyes on the tree.

"What...what do you mean? We have to go save Sakura," he said.

"Exactly, that's what's wrong," she pointed out, which made her two brothers looked puzzled.

"What are you talking about?" Gaara questioned.

"Haven't you realized that Sakura isn't the one they were targeting?" Her two brothers just looked at her blankly.

"What are you trying to say?" Kankuro asked.

"What I'm saying is that...the reason why Sakura has been kidnapped...was actually to put us into a trap-"

"Wait a minute, you're saying that saving her will put us in a trap?! How come? I mean, isn't she the one who's-"

"No, she's not...the one they were after...is Gaara," Temari said, facing her little brother, who is shocked all of a sudden. He was about to say something but Kankuro spoke first in anger out loud.

"That's ridiculous! Why would they want to kill him?! He hasn't done anything to the village, so why him?!"

"Calm down, Kankuro! I know how you feel," Temari snapped at him then took a deep breath and continued speaking, "We know that everyone in the village hate him... the demon inside of him. So no matter how much they want to kill him... I will protect our little brother... even if it costs my life." Kankuro nodded in agreement and smiled at his younger brother, who is fighting back tears.

"Don't worry, Gaara, we will protect you and your friend; Sakura, plus we gotta go-"

"Hold on, Kankuro! First of all, you have to be patient and second of all, we have to make up some strategies before heading towards the forest," Temari said.

"Ugh, you're right," he said, feeling a bit dumb.

"So, what's our first strategy?" Gaara asked.

"Our first strategy is this," she pulled out the map out of her bag and pointed area of the forest and explain, "see where Sakura and the ANBU Black Ops are located? There are seven of them... and one of them is guarding up the safety. We have to distract the others while Gaara takes Sakura with him and escape ASAP. Got it?"

Her two brothers nodded in reply, "Yes."

"Good, so our second strategy goes like this... Kankuro, you and I will set up few booby traps around the perimeter to make sure they won't catch us from getting away...*sigh* this is going to be a troublesome if Dad finds out about this...," Temari sighed and takes three scrolls out of her bag and describe, "The three scrolls have different types of techniques and one them is forbidden, so if the enemies use a counter attack, we'll use... the red scroll," she holds up forbidden scroll in front of them.

"What about the other two scrolls?" Gaara pointed them.

"The one with a blue scroll is the temple of Nirvana jutsu that generates a fluttering rain of sleep-inducing illusory white feathers; putting them into sleep. No matter how much one resists the hypnotic spell, the desire to sleep is very instinctive. The other one with a green scroll is a barrier method formation of four explosive tags that are jointly placed around the boundary of an area. If the enemies walk through the boundary, the seals will explode when they reached the centre of it, killing the imprisoned target."

"Wow, Temari, I never knew you were that super smart of knowing a lot of information. And your strategies are quite impressive," said Kankuro smirking.

"Why, thank you. I never expected a compliment from you. Well anyway, the three of us are going to take one of the scrolls, so Gaara... you're going to use this red scroll...and Kankuro and I will use thee two," she said, holding up the green and blue scrolls.

"Wait, why would Gaara have that forbidden scroll, it's highly-"

"Kankuro, haven't you forget the strategies I told you? Gaara is going to take that forbidden scroll and use it on the enemies and rescue Sakura. After all, he's the one who can save her, so both of us are going to trap the other enemies with these two scrolls."

"Oh...right. I totally forgot," he said dumbly.

"How could you forget?! Wow, you really do have a short-term memory," Temari sweat dropped, but Kankuro just shrugged.

"Hey, we can't stay chit-chatting here! We got to go save my friend," said Gaara, feeling aggravated.

"Right. Sorry, Gaara. It's just Kankuro is being cluelessly dumb," Temari said.

"Eh, whatever. Let's just go," said Kankuro groaning, as they headed their direction towards the forest.

"Don't worry, Sakura. Just hang in there. We'll save you," Gaara thought hopefully.

For almost half an hour, they've reached the ninja's hideout and hid under the bushes quietly without making any ruffling sounds of the leaves.

"Hey Temari, do you think we should start setting up the trap? I mean, there are two ninjas who are now guarding up their safety and few of them are busy chatting amongst themselves. They're unaware of it," Kankuro whispered.

"Let's wait for 1 minute, then we can start setting up... and you, Gaara... you know what to do," she smiled at him as he gave her a nod.

"Be careful, little bro," said Kankuro patting him on the head. Gaara also gave him a nod as well, so he quickly crawled out of the bushes and hide above the tree branches.

"Okay, we have 5 minutes left, so let's set up the trap," said Temari as they put down the scrolls, sealing the techniques and made a few hand signs.

"There. The barrier is all set. How about you?"

"It's finished," whispered Kankuro.

"Good. Now, we just have to wait for Gaara's signal," Temari whispered back.


	5. Sakura Rescue Arc

CHAPTER 5: SAKURA RESCUE ARC

When Gaara was waiting for the right time to strike at them, he saw Sakura all tied up while she was unconscious. Seeing her in a state of matter made him angry inside and Shukaku told him to slaughter them to death, but Gaara decided not to. He wasn't the type of person to kill people in a dangerous way. However, a small part of him wanted them all dead because it hurt him so badly that everyone in the village hated him, but now...Sakura came to his life. She was the only person who cared for him because they both understand each other's pain and feelings. And on top of that, she is his new light that brought him out of the darkness and stood up for him. This time, it's his turn to save her.

"Well, well, well, what d'you know? Looks like we have three wanted visitors," said the 5th ninja smirking, as the others turned their heads to see their hiding spots.

Gaara raised his hand up for the signal as Temari and Kankuro started attacking them. When they used the techniques to make the others fall asleep and the others walking through the boundary, the seals explode which killed them permanently.

"Is it over?" Kankuro asked breathing heavily.

"No, not yet! Why are you in such a hurry?!" Temari questioned him.

"Because I'm hungry," he whined when he earned a whack on the head.

"Idiot! We can eat later. We're in the middle of fighting right now," she said gritting her teeth, holding her temper back.

While Gaara was untying the ropes around Sakura, her eyes fluttered open in a blurry vision, but she blinked three times clearly and the first thing she saw was him saving her.

"Gaara...you're...you're not dead?" She asked feeling relieved of him being totally fine.

"No, of course not. Right now, we have to get out of here before we get caught by those sand ninjas," said Gaara, quickly helping her get up and began running as fast as they could towards the forest. In a few seconds, they were surrounded by three ninjas; the 4th, 5th, and the 6th who nearly survived from the attack earlier.

"Not so fast, jinchuriki. You think you have the chance to escape? Well sooner or later, you're going to be dead by now," the 5th ninja said.

"What about the little girl?" The 4th ninja asked.

"She's not worth killing, only the jinchuriki... he was the one who attacked our village," he said.

"Hey, why can't we just kill them both? After all, the little girl seems pretty attached to that monster," the 6th ninja said arrogantly. Gaara and Sakura's eyes widened in shocked of his statement, so they held each other tightly without letting go.

"Or you can all let them go and that way, we can deal with you three," said a voice coming from the person, startling them. They all turned their heads up to see who was above the tree. It was Temari, who was smirking down at the three ninjas.

"Who the hell are you?!" Yelled the 6th questionably.

"In case you haven't forgotten, we're here to save our little brother and his friend," she said.

"Who's 'we'?" Questioned the 4th.

"I'm Temari and my brother over there is Kankuro," she said, glancing at him, who appeared on the other side of the tree.

"And we are Gaara's siblings," they both said calmly.

"Ah, siblings...that explains why the two of you are related to him. However, he's going to be dead anyway," the 5th ninja said. He was about to attack, but Sakura was able to counterattack when Gaara used the forbidden scroll and make a few hand signs and cry out.

"Forbidden Technique: Outer Path Seal; Confusion!"

"WHAT?!" Exclaimed the 4th and the 5th ninjas.

"I CAN'T SEE!" The 6th ninja yelled.

Suddenly, everything went blind in a white flash and then after a few seconds, it went back to normal. Gaara, Sakura, and his siblings were shocked to see that the ninjas are in confusion state of matter, lying on the ground and groaning dizzily. No ninja can dispel the technique except Orochimaru and the 4th Kazekage. They wouldn't fall easily on any traps that others might set up, not even in a genjutsu. Right now, Gaara and his siblings saved Sakura from those sand ninjas. It was worth a shot.

"Sakura, are you alright?" Gaara asked concernedly.

"Yeah, I'm alright," she said, smiling.

"Oh good, because I thought you would've had me all worried," he said, looking down awkwardly.

"Y-you were worried about me?" She said, feeling happy. She wasn't expecting him to worry about her and yet... here he was.

"Yeah," Gaara nodded and smiled, hugging her as she hugged him back while Kankuro and Temari watched them in awe. It was kind of sweet to see their interaction between them.

"Come on, let's go back to the village," said Temari as they all followed her on the way back out of the forest.

When they arrived at the entrance, they decided to go for an ice cream. It was hot in the afternoon and many people across the town were sweating like pigs and others were giving them free water.

"Wow, it sure is busy in this town," Sakura said, biting off the ice cream and starting to get a brain freeze, "Ow...headache."

"Are you alright? You're not hurt, are you?" Gaara asked worriedly and Sakura just laughed at his reaction.

"No, of course not. I just got a headache from eating off the ice cream. It's called 'brain freeze,'" she said.

"Brain freeze? I never heard of it, but I think it's cool."

"You think so?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, only in my brother's handbook," Gaara said, as they burst out laughing.

On the other hand, Kankuro was pouting angrily at them while Temari was sitting at the top of the rock, eating her favorite ice cream; vanilla. Not wanting to ruin the moment between Gaara and Sakura.

"Ugh. Those brats...wait until I get my hands on them and put them in a rocket launcher," Kankuro said, getting twitchy and evil.

"Oh, will you relax? They're just having a great time with each other? Besides, you wouldn't actually put them in a rocket launcher because those stuff doesn't even exist in our shinobi world," Temari said.

"Are you trying to convince me not to create a rocket launcher?" He asked, getting annoyed all of a sudden.

"No, I was only convincing you not to mess with them or else you will feel Gaara's wrath," Temari said.

"Eh. I wouldn't go there, like yours," Kankuro said, thoughtfully.

"Exactly," she shrugged as she continued eating her ice cream, watching the two of them enjoying each other's company.

"Gaara, I really wanted to thank you and your siblings for saving me from those ninjas... I thought I was going to lose you at first because... I was scared of what they might do to you... I'm glad you were okay," said Sakura, as her tears ran down from her cheeks, and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly.

Gaara felt touched and emotional by her and because of her, he felt loved and needed. And that's all he really wanted from someone like her.

"Me too," Gaara said, as he held her close to him. They stayed like that without letting each other go.

"Awww," Temari thought sweetly.

"You know, Temari...things are getting pretty calm day after day, ever since Gaara met her," Kankuro said.

"That's because their fates collided," she said dramatically and sighed dreamily.

"That's a cheesy thing to say. Wow, I never would've thought that you're into those love-dovey romance. 'You're still young for that sort of thing-'" he imitated her saying and snickered, just when Temari whacked him on the head with her fan.

"I wasn't into romance, you idiot! I know I'm too young for that. I was only talking about how the two of them met in a friendly way. And FYI, you should never ever imitate my saying," she scowled, gritting her teeth.

"Always with the usual whacking and scowling," he said, rubbing the spot that was growing on his head.

"Cause you piss me off, every time you annoy me. And by the way, I literally enjoy whacking you on the head," she said smirking.

"Whatever," he said, crossing both arms to watch the two friends hang out on the swings together as the sun was setting down.

Meanwhile, the 4th Kazekage heard the report from the sand ninjas, who got beaten up by his three young children including their friend; Sakura. Also, heard that his daughter; Temari, was the one who stole three scrolls and one of them is forbidden, which has been used by Gaara. How could the ninjas get caught so easily in that forbidden technique? Especially the booby trap that his two young children had set up. After all, Temari was one of the best trap mastermind and a good strategist. She can play any mind tricks on other enemies in different ways. No one could ever done like that in much more clever way. As a matter of fact, the 4th Kazekage was really impressed. Even though, he was rather disappointed that the mission of assassinating Gaara turned out to be a breakdown.

One Night, the entire village was completely closed up, due to the sand storm. At the Kazekage's mansion, Yashamaru went to visit Gaara's room, only to find Temari scowling at Kankuro for making her "somewhat superhero-puppet master," supposedly referring to her as "The Chosen one."

"Calm down, Temari. I think this costume looks fabulous on you. And by next month of October, we will definitely win the Halloween Costume Contest," he said, smiling in an irritating smug and received a huge whack by Temari once again.

"You, block head! You call this a "superhero costume?!" I looked like a female android. If I were to join, I'd say you're going to control me with those ugly puppet strings of yours," she pointed out to what he was holding and feeling the anger boiling inside her.

"What?! That's absurd, you're my sister and I would never do that," he lied.

"Sure," she said sarcastically and rolled her eyes at him, knowing that he was lying.

"Whatever, I'll just find someone who is confident enough to wear the costume. Unlike you, who is big of a coward to wear-"

"What did you say?!" Temari gritted her teeth angrily.

"Nothing," he said laughing nervously, not wanting to feel her temper rise up in fury.

After hearing Temari's lecture to Kankuro, Yashamaru shook his head away and smirked at them, as he headed towards the door to see Gaara, who was trying to stab his hand with a knife.

"It's no use, the sand gets in the way," Gaara thought.

"Gaara... as a member of your medical team at Kazekage's command, my duty is to protect you from any harm. Please do not try to do such a thing. Although, the sand will protect you anyway," Yashamaru said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Yashamaru, I'm sorry. Do injuries... hurt?" Gaara asked.

"Oh... this," he pointed his forehead that were covered in bandages, "Well, a little... but it's nothing serious," he said, taking a moment for Gaara to ask him questions.

"Hey,Yashamaru."

"Yes?"

"What does pain feel like?" Gaara asked, looking down his hand and continued speaking, "You see... I've never been injured so... I wonder what it's like."

"Hmm... how should I put it? Afflictive or dreadful... like when you're beaten or cut... In short, your body's in an unbearable condition in which you feel that... you're unable to stay in your usual self...Hehe, I can't explain it very well, but I think I can say that it's unpleasant," he explained, feeling a bit uncomfortable as Gaara was sadly looking at him.

"Yashamaru... then... do you... hate me?" Gaara asked.

Yashamaru started at him for a moment," In life there are times people hurt and get hurt by others... but it's not that easy to dislike someone for such an experience," with the word he said, Gaara's face has lighten up brightly.

"Thank you, Yashamaru. I think I understand what pain is."

"Is that so," he said, giving him a smile.

"Does that mean I am injured... just like Sakura and everyone else? Then I always feel pain," he said, touching his hear and gripping it tightly, Although, it doesn't bleed, this part hurts so much...," he trailed off at his word as Yashamaru walked toward him and gently took the knife out of Gaara eyes widened at him. Shocked at how Yashamaru gave himself a small wound, which the blood was dripping down from his finger.

"Bodies bleed upon physically injuries and they may be quite hurtful... but eventually, the pain will wear out as time passes and they can heal faster with medical aids," Yashamaru explained and decided to continue, "what are more serious are emotional scars. They are the hardest to heal."

"Emotional... scars?" Gaara questioned softly.

"Physical and emotional scars are a bit different... Unlike ones, there's no ointment available for emotional ones... and pain may never go away... But there is only one thing that can stop such heartache. However, as inconvenient as it may seem, this cure can only be given by people other than yourself."

"What is it?" Gaara asked wondering what has brought him into light.

"It's love," Yashamaru exclaimed. Gaara's eyes got widened all of a sudden.

"Love?" He questioned again.

"Yes," Yashamaru nodded and smiled at him.

"H-how can I receive that?" He asked, frowning.

"Gaara, you are already receiving it."

"Huh?" He said, not understanding what he's saying.

"Love is... a heart's desire you feel for the precious ones around you, like the feeling my sister and your friend had for you and I believed they loved you very much. The sand Shukaku is primarily a living spirit specialized in attacks. It's automatic perfect defence is a proof of material affection. Your mother's will remained in the sand to protect you. Even after death, you wanted to be there for... Gaara."

"Yashamaru... about tonight... thank you."

"What for?"

"For telling me those things. Somehow, I quite understand it."

"You're very welcome. After all, Gaara, you're my precious one around me," he said, smiling warmly at him.

"Hey, Yashamaru. I have a favor to ask," Gaara said, feeling a bit jumpy and excited.

"I want some ointments," he said, smiling at the thought of giving it to Sakura. Thinking it was the best way to surprise her.

Around 11 o'clock, the 4th Kazekage told Sakura about the message he received from her parents. They said they're returning back from the A-rank mission, which means that they completed it. This brought her happy and excited to see them and how much she missed them. She can't wait to tell her parents that she has a friend and how her and Gaara spend a lot of time together. However, she wouldn't tell about the "incident" of her being kidnapped and Gaara saving her and all that, so she decided to keep it a secret unless somebody had witnessed at what happened last 2 weeks.

"Your parents are returning in 2 days. I'd rather say... you'll make a quite good impression on them. The message on this scroll says,'they both missed you very much,'" the 4th Kazekage said, smiling down at her.

"Really? I haven't seen them for days. I really missed them and...are they...,"

"They're alright. Only scratches and cuts, so nothing serious. Anyway, that's all the message your parents gave me to you, miss Haruno. You are dismissed," said the 4th Kazekage kindly, as he watched Sakura bowed down respectfully and left the office.

At midnight, Sakura was walking down the street with a worried look on her face. Worried what might happen after her parents' return. What could the problem be?

"Sakura," a voice echoed between the buildings, startling her and recognizing who the person running towards her.

"Gaara," she called out, happy to see him, but her eyes wandered through the bag he was holding, "hey... what are those?" pointed.

"Uh... these are healing ointments. I'm giving it to you as gifts," he said shyly, holding it in front of her.

Blinking at him, her eyes became glassy as tears starting to swell up and embraced him lovingly.

"Gaara... thank you... I owe you this," she said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek, making him blush. "Promise me this... We will always be best friends, even when I'm not around with you."

"I promise...," Gaara said softly and sadly, as they both stayed in each other's arms when the full moon was glowing brightly during the night.

* * *

I add the scene of "Yashamaru's conversation with Gaara" from Manga because I wanted to put it in my story and see where it takes place to the Chunin Exams Ar/Invasion of Konoha Arc. (Writing the Chunin Exams Arc in-progress)

Tell me how you like it so far. It's my first story, so please keep your comments below. :)


	6. Betrayal (End of Childhood)

CHAPTER 6: BETRAYAL

2 days later, Sakura's parents had arrived in the village hidden in the sand and people around town has always been busy these days working, helping the environment and going on a new missions, which can be exhausting these days but it was worth the time and effort involved. Like Mr. and Mrs. Haruno did for the past few weeks. They're now reporting back to the Kazekage from completing the A-rank mission.

"Our mission in the Land of Rice is complete, sir. We've searched the forbidden scroll that Orochimaru's subordinate, Kimimaro has stolen, but we found this piece," Mrs. Haruno said, taking out the small object from her bag, "It's an osteoblast cells that functions in groups of connected cells in the process of bone formation."

"Hmm... that's fascinating to see this object. Although, this is not an ordinary bone, it's one of Kimimaro's abilities called 'Shikotsumyaku', which came from Kekkei genkai, allowing the user to manipulate his own skeletal structure... as a means of combat."

"I've never heard of it... During our mission, we had seen several dead corpses lying on the ground in the sound village," Mr. Haruno said.

"I see... well, no need to worry. I'm going to send few black ANBU ninjas on this A-rank mission. So far, you did an amazing job on tracking including this pieces. Anyway, do you still have some unfinished business here?"

"No, sir, we don't. The Hokage expects us to return back home as soon as possible, so we are leaving tonight," Mrs. Haruno said, as she pressed her lips together which made Sakura upset as her head went down.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Mr. Haruno asked.

"I don't want to leave my... friend, she said

"Who?" Her parents asked, curious who their daughter's friend is.

"Gaara... he is my youngest son in the family and he is a jinchuriki. Apparently, he has the one tailed beast Shukaku sealed inside of him, which everyone in the village mostly fear him. Ever since the attack in this village, my son has been drawn into a lot of trouble until he met your daughter," Kazekage explained quietly.

"That's wonderful, honey," Mrs. Haruno said, smiling at Sakura who smiled back a little.

"However, we have to leave tonight. Though, it's still morning, so I guess we have more free time to go around the village," Mr. Haruno said wisely.

"Please... enjoy your time here," the 4th gave them a nod.

"Thank you, sir. Anyway," Mr. Haruno paused as he turned to look at his daughter, who's now depressed.

"Why do we have to leave?" Sakura questioned quietly.

"Sakura. We have no choice. The third Hokage expects us to return home. Your mother and I have been assigned in nemission lately. And for next 6 years, you're going to attend an orientation to enter the Ninja Academy...*sigh*... I'm sorry, sweetie. I understand this is hard for you to leave your friend like this," her father said, sighing tiredly.

"Don't worry, you two will meet each other again," her mother said, smiling.

"Hopefully," said Sakura as she smiled back.

"That's our girl," said Mr. Haruno smirking.

"So, it's settled, then?" The 4th asked.

"Yes, sir," they both said, nodding. Sakura, on the other hand, seems to be okay with the hard decision they made because they can't stay here long enough and it's been over a month now. But still, she can't easily get rid of the feeling heartbroken and depression. Someday, she will meet Gaara again, just what her mother said.

Around 11 o'clock am, Gaara was sitting on the park bench, watching the kids play as usual these days. The expression look on his face is happier and calm, nor anger or jealousy. He didn't feel any pain or violent towards others.

_**"Soooo... how are you doin, kid? Long time no see. You look really great in the mood these past few days. Well, except the one where the sand ninjas kidnapped our cherry blossom. It was awful, eh? Anyway, I just want to come by and say 'hello,'" Shukaku said, smirking.**_

_"Uh... hey, Shukaku, I didn't expect you to be talking in my mind," Gaara thought._

_**"What?! You don't like me?!" Shukaku's eyes got widened in a funny way.**_

_"No... it's just... that I don't want you talking in my mind while I'm waiting for Sakura," Gaara thought._

_**"Well... fine then," Shukaku pouted, "if you don't want me to talk to you... have it your way." With that said, Shukaku was starting to to get serious. "Just to let you know... I'm having a bad feeling.**_

_"What do you mean?" Gaara thought._

_**"Something bad will happen tonight," the inner demon predicted.**_

_"I don't understand," he thought._ Shukaku just vanished, leaving Gaara confused and shrugged off.

Few minutes later, he saw Sakura walking towards him with a worried look on her face.

"Hey, Sakura, how is- what's wrong? You look a bit said." Gaara said, frowning.

"It's nothing," she said, smiling reassuringly.

"Well, since my parents came back from the mission, they decided to return home to our village and...," she trailed off her words, not knowing how she will tell the truth to him.

"So... why are you sad about it?" He asked.

"Because-" she trailed off her words again when Kankuro interrupted them with the shout of his voice.

"HEY GUYS! How are ya?!" WHACK! "Ow, Temmy, what was that for!" Turning his head to look at her, and pout.

"One, for you shouting right here in the middle of this park area and people starting to stare at you as if you were crazy... and two, for you to stop calling me a stupid nickname," Temari said pinching his ear tightly so hard, leaving a red finger print mark.

"I'm sorry, okay? I thought you like your new nickname," he said, whimpering like a puppy.

"Well, I don't, so stop your whimpering... you sound like a lost puppy," she said, getting irritated at the sound coming from him.

"Whatever," Kankuro said as Temari turned her attention away from him to the two young friends and said, "Gaara... we have some great news... father wanted you to join the Academy... if you wanted to become a ninja in the future."

"Gaara, this is a great opportunity for you to become a great ninja, maybe we could fight together side by side and protect each other, you know," Sakura said happily.

"You really think so?" He asked surprisingly, still unsure about the decision he's making.

"Of course," she said, hugging him as he hug her back as always.

"So you're joining?" Temari asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Gaara nodded.

"Great! I'll tell father you gladly accept," she said with a gleeful smile plastered on her face as she turned her back on them, dragging Kankuro along with her and walked away.

"Come on, Kankuro. Stop drooling over some random chicks... we got to go visit father," she said, rolling her eyes and leave Gaara and Sakura alone.

They both giggling at Kankuro's drool face, but they stopped when Gaara asked her.

"So... why were you sad about it?" He repeated the question.

"Oh... that... I... I was sad because I'm...*sighed heavily*... I'm leaving," she said quietly, looking away so he wouldn't see her shred a tear but she quickly wiped it away.

"When are you leaving?" He asked, frowning at her. He wanted to know if she was going to leave him sooner or later, but he doesn't want that to happen. That was the part where everything is going to get bad... perhaps more horrible than that.

"I... can't tell you that... Gaara," she said nervously and uncomfortable of telling him the truth, not to make him feel upset. So she change the topic on her mind. "Why don't we just spend more time playing at the park and some ice cream after," she said, smiling reassuring at him. Even though, Gaara doesn't noticed her fake smile or her nervousness in her voice.

"Okay, sure, I'd love that," he said with a kind smile.

"Me too," she said in relief. Grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the swings where kids were playing on the side of the playground, ignoring the two and continue playing soccer all day.

In the evening around 8 o'clock, Sakura and her parents started packing their stuff inside their bags. From that moment on, her mother saw the picture of Sakura and Gaara embracing each other with warm smiles plastered on their faces.

"Hey, honey. Take a look at this picture," Mrs. Haruno was agreeing and smirking. "Sweetie, you drop your picture on the floor," Mrs. Haruno called out.

"Oh yeah. I forgot to put it inside my backpack," Sakura called back, getting up from the floor and walking into the living room when she saw her picture in awe.

"Hey, give it back," she pouted, crossing both arms. Her parents turned to look at their daughter.

"Hehe. Aww, now, don't give us that face. We're just looking at this picture of yours. You two looks so cute tighter," her mother said.

"Who took a picture of you and Gaara?" Her father asked.

"Gaara's older sister; Temari," she answered.

"Ah... Temari... your mother and I saw her today, she was dragging her middle brother along the street with a drool on his face," Mr. Haruno said, chucking at his own memory.

"Hn, he reminds me of me. Back when I was younger, I couldn't stop staring at some random chicks-"

"Ahem! Excuse me, I'm standing right here and if you ever tell about your 'perverted memory' in front of me and our daughter, you'll regret it," Mrs. Haruno said, feeling the rage boiling inside of her, but held back.

"Oh, right. Hehe, sorry, Mebuki," Mr. Haruno apologized, rubbing the back of his head, feeling shame and embarrassed. Sakura, on the other hand, shook her head and giggle at her father's action and continued packing her stuff. "Sakura, aren't you going to keep this picture?" Her mother asked, frowning as she held it to her.

"Yes," she said, taking the picture from her and slipping it inside of her backpack.

"Anyway, we're leaving for three hours and right now, we have to write a 'farewell' letter to the Kazekage so that he knows," Mrs. Haruno said.

"Hmm... absolutely," Mr. Haruno agreed, before they heard a sniffing sound coming from their daughter, who is silently crying.

"Sakura, honey... Are you alright?" Her mother asked, concernedly.

"I'm alright," she said, wiping her tears away quickly.

"Sakura... we understand how you feel... we know how much your friend; Gaara meant to you and... we know that you two had spent a lot of good times together... so cherish that in your heart. Someday, you'll meet him by the time you become a ninja... it's not too late for you," her father said, as he walked over to her daughter and placed his hand on her right shoulder saying, "I'm sure Gaara feels the same way about you," he smiled at her when she faced her mother and father with hopes in her eyes.

"Really?" She asked in a soft tone of her voice.

"Of course," her father said, kindly smiling at her.

"So you're feeling better now?" Her mother asked.

"Much better," she said reassuringly.

"Okay, let's continue packing," her father said, putting his clothes inside his bag, including some of the toiletries and equipments. It was going to be a long journey back to Konoha in 3 day-trip.

Three hours later, the Haruno family departed from the village, leaving the trail of Sakura's tears, written in _"I'll miss you, Gaara," _on the ground_._ Her parents took a noticed of her tears dripping down from her cheeks and that she's sadly going to miss him terribly. They both sighed tiredly, thinking it was best to leave their daughter think about Gaara and some of the good memories she'd have with him.

Meanwhile, Gaara was sitting on the rooftop, facing his back on the full moon, thinking about Sakura. One thing was bothering him was...her depression. A while ago, she couldn't tell him when she was leaving with her parents...and that she couldn't tell him the reason of it. Maybe because she didn't want him to hear the truth of her leaving him heart broken or whatever reaction he's going to feel. Now... he realized. Putting both hands in front of his face, he suddenly felt someone's presence behind him. Throwing some kunai knives at Gaara's back, the sand quickly blocked the attack.

Gaara's eyes widened slightly in fear and shocked, he turned around to see a masked ANBU ninja controlling the knives between his fingers with chakra strings. Getting angry by this, the ninja began to attack him but Gaara quickly counter attack at the enemy with the use of his sand defence. He levitated the ninja upon his feet and crushed him with a clenching fist. Then, all the blood splattered everywhere and eventually killed him.

After that moment on, Gaara walked over to the ninja and kneeled down in front of him. As he took of his mask clothing slowly, he suddenly recognized who was trying to assassinate him. It was his uncle; Yashamaru.

"Impressive... Gaara," Yashamaru said weakly.

"Yashamaru..." He thought out loud, as he gripped left side and started screaming in anguished. Yashamaru looked at him in a sad way when Gaara was crying.

"W...why...why... why is it...?!" Gaara gripped his head as he looked over his uncle, "why you...? Why?!" He questioned and Yashamaru took one moment to answer.

"Always...you were always..you were my...," he trailed off of his words.

Yashamaru answered, "it was an order," which made Gaara shock all of a sudden.

"I was ordered to assassinate you, by your father...the Kazekage," Yashamaru said, making him choke.

"Father? Why...would he want me dead..?" Gaara asked.

"You were born...to be possessed by the sand Shukaku...until today, you have been watched over as an experimental subject... However, you are yet unable to control to powers of the living spirit Shukaku... Before long your existence will become too dangerous to the village itself. We simply couldn't let that happen...," Yashamaru explained.

"Then...you had no choice...it was because of father-," Gaara got interrupted by Yashamaru's saying.

"No...you're mistaken... Yes I did receive Kazekage's order, but... I could've declined it I wanted to... Gaara...deep down inside...I must've always...resented you...for coming into this would,stealing life away from my dear sister... Sakura and I tried our best to love you by thinking of you as your mother's memento...,but we couldn't... My sister never wished to give birth to you... She was sacrificed for this village and therefore died cursing at it. Perhaps... From that moment on, I've been carrying never-healing emotional scars. Your mother gave you your name. This child's name is Gaara. 'A demon that loves only himself.'

'Love only yourself and fight only for your sake.' She wished and believed that your existence is forever as long as you lived so. But...she didn't give you the name out of concern or love for you. The name was given to you in the hope of your eternal existence to let her grudge be carried down and be known to the world...let me ask you this, why did Sakura came here in our village? She only acted kind towards you and befriended you, just so she could hurt your feelings and more likely betray you...you were never loved by anyone...neither me or Sakura," With all that said, Yashamaru revealed the explosive tags inside his jacket, "this is it...please die."

And then, it explodes, but the sand shielded Gaara in a sphere protectively, leaving him crying so hard that his heart became more and more painful and grief.

He thought all the good memories he had with Sakura, clenching his fists tightly in the sand. His whole personality had changed as his tears continued to shred down from his cheeks, screaming in terror and anger. He carved a kanji "LOVE" on his forehead, as he stands up breathing heavily. His eyes got darkened into hatred and loneliness.

"That is Gaara...me. I finally understand... I am alone... I will believe anyone anymore...I will not love... I'm on my own... that's right... I'm all alone...," Gaara thought, swearing to himself for his life.

So much for Yashamaru's last words, that's what Shukaku had predicted. Everything that Gaara's uncle had said...cut him deeply and painful, which twisted his entire personally in much more murderous intent way and awakening Shukaku's bloodlust that night.

What is Sakura's reaction going to be when she meet him again? Do you think he will remember her for the next 6 years. Who knows what will happen next...


	7. Brand New Day!

**I updated a new chapter and I'm still going to finish typing the story. Some parts of the story is based on anime/manga. I do not own Naruto. **

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CHAPTER 7: BRAND NEW DAY

2 years later after Sakura and her parents return back to the village hidden in the leaf, things have changed as time passes; the trees, the grasses, and the flowers that bloomed over the spring fields as well as the people around the community, and of course Sakura. She's grown quite well from a 6-year old to an 8-year old. Everything that was going on in her life was okay, though she kept dreaming about her best friend every night. Every other day, she always watch the sunset going down as she kept remembering her time spent with him when her memories come flooding in her mind. Sakura wondered if he still remember the promise they made and always keep their friendship bracelets on. She was concerned about him, no matter how many times she touches her bracelet whenever her emotions were mixed. There was some good memories and tough ones that always remain their bond strong and nobody will ever break that. Never.

Today was Sakura's orientation where she will be entering the Academy to become a ninja on her own and more importantly, make new friends but sadly, she never did. All the kids still doesn't like her the way she is because of her personality and actions towards others. She stills gets bad attention and the way she was treated by them, which upsets her terribly.

"Oh look, it's the pink-haired freak," the black-haired boy said, pointing at her as the kids began laughing at her.

Sakura just ignored them and walked away, feeling offended. She focused on the 3rd Hokage speaking and ignore the taunts from others.

"From this day forward, you will all be studying and learning different types of techniques, combat-in-combat, and most of all... finding your own unique talents."

_"Unique talent? I wonder...," Sakura thought curiously._

_**"It means to find your own gift and what lies within you since you were born," her inner self explained.**_

_"Oh, okay," Sakura understood and continued paying attention back to the Hokage._

"All students will received essential knowledge, such as reading, writing, mathematics, science, geography, etc. You will be instructed on the basics of trap-setting as well as how to strengthen your minds and bodies. You will also be learning about chakra and how to use it, hand seals, and the basic levels of; taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, and clone technique. This is for making yourself stronger by carrying the 'Will of Fire-'"

"Lord Hokage, what is a 'Will of Fire?'" Asked the boy with blue eyes.

"That is an excellent question. I'm glad you'd asked. You see... the 'Will of Fire' states that every true leaf shinobi must love, believe, cherish, and fight for the village's sake. This is what gives Konohagakure shinobi the strength to continue fighting against all odds, building willpower and strength of character. It is also symbolic of the hopes and dreams of the previous generation being passed down to the next. Hopefully, you will learn all this sometime in the future. So, wish the best of luck to you," the Hokage finished speaking as everyone nodded in understanding.

Sakura, on the other hand, was a bit curious about what the Hokage explained the "Will of Fire" to them. She still wanted to know the rest of it, but it will take more time to know everything because she's young to learn all of that stuff.

One hour later, she began to throw and wield shuriken and kunai through the target practice and the others as well. She also learned how to control her chakra perfectly, which made herself feel proud and surprised everyone, including Iruka-sensei. She never thought of her classmates to be amazed by her intelligence and fast learner. It just happened. Several days of training in the Academy, she became friends with Ino Yamanaka after she was frequently bullied by others due to her large forehead, and used her bangs to hide it. Ino helped Sakura by giving her a red ribbon to over come her insecurity.

4 years later, the two became inseparable friends and a 12-year old Sakura started to become more bold and self-confident. As a student, Sakura was an honour student and even the next day, her scholastic intelligence is hardly rivalled by any of her peers. Despite her genuine appreciations for Ino's friendship, sakura felt that she was living in Ino's shadow and longed to prove herself as Ino's equal when she found out that Ino also had a crush on Sasuke Uchiha. Due to the end of their friendship, they could compete for Sasuke's love, and beginning a bitter love rivalry between two.

Three days later, Sakura met Naruto Uzumaki, who is the same as Gaara due to the facts that he's a nine-tails' jinchuriki that everyone in the leaf village fear. The two spend time with each other at the Academy everyday and eventually became friends as Naruto was developing to have a crush on her.

After they all graduated from the Academy, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were assigned into Team 7 under the leadership of Kakashi Hatake.

"Well, let's begin with introducing yourselves," he said, leaning against the deck railing.

"What do you want to know?" Sasuke asked.

"How about your likes and dislikes... Your dreams for the future and things like that," Kakashi said, gesturing his hands up lazily.

"Hey hey, why don't you introduce yourself to us first?" Naruto said.

"You look kinda suspicious," said Sakura as she raised her eyebrows.

"Oh,me...? Well, my name is Kakashi Hatake... I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes," he said in a bored tone and continue, "dreams for the future... hmm... and I have lots of hobbies."

"So.. all he told us... is his name?" Sakura questioned.

"Now, it's your turn. Let's start on the right," Kakashi said tiredly.

"Yosh! My name is Naruto Uzumaki. What I like is an instant cup ramen. What I like even more is when Iruka-sensei pays for my ramen. What I dislike is waiting for 3 minutes for the ramen to cook... and my dream...," he paused for a moment.

_"Does he only think about ramen?" Kakashi thought._

Naruto continued, "Is to become a Hokage, so that everyone can stop disrespecting me of this village and acknowledge my existence," he finished speaking with enthusiasm.

_Kakashi was literally stunned by his words and thought, "he's grown in an interesting way."_ Then he asks, "hobbies?"

"Pranks, I guess," Naruto answered shortly.

"I see... next," Kakashi slowly ruffled his hair as he was bored.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not dream... because I will make it into a reality. I'm going to restore my clan... and destroy a certain someone," he said in a dead serious with murderous intent glare in his eyes.

_"He's so cool," Sakura thought, still blushing._

_"He better not mean me," Naruto thought, feeling a bit frightened._

_"Just as I thought," Kakashi said in mind and sighed,_ "okay, and lastly the girl."

"My name is Sakura Haruno. The thing I like is... Well the person I like is... and umm... My dream for the future... uhm...? Oh yeah!" She squealed in delight and continued, "what I dislike is... Naruto." She joked when he cried in anime tears.

_"Girls of this age are more interested in love than ninjutsu," Kakashi thought, knitting his eyebrows with a dull expression_.

"Ok! So far the introductions. Tomorrow we'll start our duties as shinobi," Kakashi said.

"Yeah! What kinds of duties!? Duties! Duties!" Naruto asked excitedly.

"First, we are going to do something with just the four of us."

"What is it? What is it?" Naruto wanted to know what they're all going to for tomorrow. He was just excited to do something challenging.

"Survival training," Kakashi answered, still crossing both of his arms.

"Survival training?" Naruto questioned, puzzled for a moment.

"Why is our first duty a training? We've had enough training at the Academy," Sakura said.

"This isn't a normal training... This time, I'm your opponent," Kakashi said, but the three have no clue yet.

"Then! Then! What is it?" Naruto asked eagerly and he just chuckled.

"What's so funny, sensei?" Sakura asked, not liking the way he has something in mind.

"Uhm... well... It's just that... When I tell you this, you guys are totally going to freak out," Kakashi said.

"Freak out? Ha!" Naruto was confident, but he doesn't know what was going to freak them out.

"Of the 27 graduates, only 9 will be chosen to become a genin and the rest will be back to the Academy. This training is a very difficult exam with a failure rate of over 66%," Kakashi explained.

Naruto was flabbergasted. Sakura wasn't happy about it and Sasuke just remained silent.

"Haha! I told you, you'd freak out," Kakashi shrugged.

"What? No way! But we worked so hard... then what was the point of graduating," Naruto whined.

"Oh... That? That was just to select those who have the change to become genin," he explained.

"Uhh... What?!" Naruto and Sakura exclaimed, except Sasuke.

"Anyway, tomorrow you have to show your real skills on the training ground. Bring all the shinobi tools you have... Oh, and skip breakfast or else you'll might throw up," Kakashi reminded them as Naruto's insides were shaking in anticipation.

_"I can't fail here. I'll have to show Kakashi-sensei all I've got and make him recognize my strength!" He told himself hopefully._

"The details are on this paper and don't be late tomorrow," Kakashi told them.

"Might throw up?! Is it that tough?!" Sakura asked, but as soon as the papers were passed on to them, _she told herself in mind, "if I fail this... I'll be separated from Sasuke. This is a test of love!"_

"Eh...," Naruto just shrugged off.


	8. Mission to the Land of Waves

CHAPTER 8: MISSION: JOURNEY TO THE LAND OF WAVES

The next day after they passed their tough survival test, Team 7 began on doing D-rank missions. Apparently, Naruto and Sasuke didn't seemed to like going on easy missions because it was all pretty lame, but Sakura didn't mind at all. She seems to be okay about all the missions they've been through because it was just the beginning. However, Naruto and Sasuke were not capable of going on lame missions, such as babysitting an elder's grandson, shopping in the neighbouring village or help with the potato digging. The two were not interested in those dumb duties, its like doing chores.

"Now... Kakashi's team 7, your next duty is...," the Hokage was about to say their mission when Naruto interrupted.

"No! No! No! No, thank you! I want to do, you know! More incredible mission! Find us a better one!" Naruto said in an outburst.

_"I agree," Sasuke thought. He was annoyed as Naruto, but didn't show it._

_"Geez... How annoying," Sakura thought, narrowing her eyes at Naruto._

_Kakashi sighed, "I thought it was about time for this."_

Iruka slammed his hands down on the table and yelled, "you idiot! You are just a rookie! Everyone starts off with the simple duties and works their way up!"

The Hokage sighed tiredly when Naruto began to yell back.

"But! But! We keep getting the crappiest possible duties!"

"Be quiet, you!" Kakashi punched him on the back of his head.

"Naruto, it seems I have to explain to you, what these duties are all about. Listen, everyday the village receives numerous requests from babysitting to assassination. Each requests is written down on these lists and divided into an A,B,C,D ranking based on difficulty. The village is also divided based on skill. Starting with me to the jounins, chunins, and genins. The missions are then... handed out by us at the top to ninjas based on their abilities. And if the duty is completed successfully, we receive payment from the client.

You guys just recently became genin. D-rank missions are perfect for you," the Hokage finished explaining.

"Last night, I had pork ramen, so miso sounds good for...," Naruto, however; wasn't listening to what all he said, which annoyed the Hokage.

"Hey! Listen!" He yelled at him.

"I... I apologize...," Kakashi rubbed the back of his head.

"Geez... All you do is give lectures like that. But you know what?! I'm not the trouble-making brat you still think I am!" Naruto said stubbornly, sitting down and crossing his arms.

_"I'm going to get yelled at later for this," Kakashi thought._

Iruka looked at the Hokage, who was smirking at Naruto intently.

"Ok," the Hokage began to spoke when Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi stared at him for a moment, "if you want that much, I'll give you a C-rank mission. It's a protection mission of a certain individual."

"Yay!" Naruto cheered happily, leaving the rest of Team 7 stunned, "Who?! A feudal lord?! A princess?!" He asked eagerly.

"Calm down, I'm about to introduce him," the Hokage said, which left the room in complete dead silence when the door opened by a man carrying a bottle of wine.

"What's this?" The man asked, as he drank some of it, "they are all a bunch of super brats. Especially the shortest one with the super stupid-looking face. Are you really a ninja? Hey?!" He leaned his elbow against the door frame and gazed at them with a dull expression.

"Haha... Who's the shortest one with the stupid face?" Naruto grinned sheepishly as he looked back and forth between Sakura and Sasuke's height until he realized that he was the shortest.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" He yelled, wriggling out of Kakashi's grasp from the back of his jumpsuit collar.

"What's the point of killing the person we're supposed to protect? Idiot!" Kakashi said.

"I am the super expert bridge builder, Tazuna. I expect you to provide me super protection until I get back to my country and complete the bridge," Tazuna told them, as they soon departed from the village to the Land of Waves.

While they continued walking to their journey, Sakura started thinking about Gaara and how she misses him terribly, but quickly shook the image of him off of her head. She doesn't want to get distracted along the way to their mission. Still, she couldn't help but remembered how they spent their time together back then. She was hoping of seeing him again someday. Maybe... Just maybe.

"Umm... Mr. Tazuna?"

"You're from the Wave country, right?" Sakura asked, uncertain about where he's from.

"What about it?" Tazuna questioned.

"Umm... Kakashi-sensei? Do they have ninjas in that country too?" She asked as she looked over him on the side.

"No, not in the Wave country. But in most other countries, the culture and customs may be different. Although, hidden villages exist and so do ninjas. Don't worry, there won't be any ninja combat in a C-rank mission," he said, patting Sakura on the head assuringly.

"Then, we won't come in contact with foreign ninjas?"

"Of course not! Hahaha," he chuckled.

Tazuna, on the other hand, was not certainly happy about it. He still thinks that there are other foreign ninjas who might be lurking around the shadows and remained hidden. Just when Kakashi felt someone's chakra underneath the clear puddle and front that moment on, a ninja half-appeared on the puddle behind them and began to attack.

When Naruto started to panic, Sakura does her best to protect Tazuna while Sasuke deals with the attacks efficiently, taunting Naruto in the process saying that he as absolutely useless, then Kakashi reveals the illusion of his death. Later on, team 7 hears of Tazuna's desire to build a bridge to save the impoverished a Land of Waves and the threat from the wealthy criminal mastermind, Gato. They were soon stopped by Zabuza Momochi and Kakashi is eventually captured in a prison of water. Naruto used his transformation skills and Sasuke used his expertise at shuriken jutsu to help Kakashi out of the prison, which they both succeeded.

When Kakashi and the rest of Team 7 tries to kill Zabuza, a masked Kirigakure hunter-nin apparently kills him and leaves with him. The group continuously escorted Tazuna back to his home to let Kakashi rests and recover.

During the C-rank mission in the a Land of Waves, team 7 were battling against Zabuza and Haku on the bridge while Tazuna's grandson, Inari attempts to rally up the support amongst the villagers against Gato. Elsewhere, Naruto agrees to kill Haku, who instead stops him, and moves in the way of Kakashi's attack, saving Zabuza which killed him at the cost of his life. Before the battle can end, Gato arrives with his men and reveals he will kill everyone in present. All of them looked murderous which frightens Naruto the most when he sees Zabuza being killed in a process.

"Don't look away. The end of a man who lived a different life," Kakashi said as he looked over the crowd.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed silently as he watched over the crowd as well.

"Why... Mmmm," Sasuke groaned and opened his eyes in a blurry vision, "Sakura, you're heavy," he said weakly.

Tazuna was surprised to see that Sasuke was alive while Sakura was still shivering from mourning over him. Then, she hugged him tightly for a moment and was glad he's alright.

"Sakura, that hurts," Sasuke said, still feeling the pain all over his body that were covered in bruised and needles.

"Sorry... Ah," Sakura smiled at him.

"What about a Naruto? And that masked kid?" He grunted and tries to get up.

"Don't move! Naruto is fine! And that masked kid is dead," Sakura told him, which shocked him all of a sudden.

"Dead? Did Naruto kill him?" He asked.

"N-no. I'm not sure, but her protected Zabuza," Sakura said.

"I...had faith in you. It's impressive that you prevented attacks to your critical areas!" Sakura said happily.

_"No," Sakuke said quietly and thought," From the beginning...," he saw the image of masked Haku in his head, feeling a bit puzzled._

"NATUTO!" Sakura called him, startling him from the distance, "He's alright! Sasuke us alive!"

Naruto looked back at his shoulder and was surprised that Sasuke was alive. He was almost into tears and smiled sadly, then turned around to see Kaku lying dead on the ground in front of him.

"It pained him to have to fight you... Haku fought not only for me... He fought for you guys to... He was too kind," Naruto remembered what Zabuza told him, he finally understand what Haku was going through. "I see."

"I've been worried but... Sakura is also alright... that's great," Kakashi said.

"Hey! Hey! You guys are too at ease!" The man said, as Gato's men began approaching them.

"Let's begin!" All the men shouted violently, feeling the desire to kill.

"Damn... this is bad," Kakashi said.

"Kakashi-sensei, don't you have a special jutsu to defeat them all?" Naruto panicked.

"I can't...after the lightning edge, summoning, and sharingon I used too much chakra." Kakashi said.

When Gato's men (mercenaries) was about to attack, an arrow shot straight down through the ground, startling everyone by none other than Tazuna's grandson; Inari with the villagers. It surprised Naruto and Tazuna because everyone had showed up to fight against Gato's men; retreating and departing from the village as soon as possible and all the villagers cheered happily. Later on, Kakashi approached Zabuza, who was about to say something.

"It looks it's over, Kakashi," Zabuza said quietly, lying on the ground dying.

"Yes," he replied, knowing that his mission with Team 7 is almost finished.

"Kakashi, I have a request," Zabuza said.

"What is it?"

"I want to see his face," Zabuza told him, meaning Haku, who was already face.

"Sure," He said.

"Huh? It's snowing," Naruto said.

"Snow at this time of year?" The villager looked up the sky watching the snow falling. While Kakashi was carrying Zabuza and gently placed him beside Haku's dead body.

_"Haku... are you crying?" Zabuza thought and thanked Kakashi. Then he looked at Haku's face and thought, "You have always been by my side... I'd like to be by your side at the end._

"If I could... I'd like to... go to the same place... as you," Zabuza said quietly to him. And the two died peacefully on the ground as the snow falls.

2 weeks later, team 7 put a burial of Haku and Zabuza and put flowers and the sword in their funeral on top of the hill where the sun was setting. Later on, team 7 arrived at the Great Naruto Bridge to say goodbye to Old man Tazuna and his grandson; Inari. Both of them were very thankful for saving them from the mercenaries and how the bridge completed. Sooner or later, Team 7 leaves the Wave country and Tazuna proclaims to the village that the bridge will be called the "Great Naruto Bridge" to the Whole town.


	9. A New Chapter! The Chunin Exams

Like I said, most of the parts are based on anime/manga. I do not own Naruto.

I'll update more chapters next time. I have to study for the exams. Anyway, enjoy reading! :)

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CHAPTER 9: A New Chapter Begins: The Chunin Exams!

One Day, Naruto went to meet his teammates down from the village, just when he greeted Sakura good morning, except Sasuke, who looked away from him ignoring his presence.

_"Not again... these two have been weird since returning from the Wave country," Sakura thought._

_**"KAKASHI-SENSEI! HURRY UP!" Her inner complained.**_

3 hours later, Kakashi told them that he was late and got lost, but Naruto and Sakura knows that he's lying.

"Hey hey! Kakashi-sensei! Lately all of our team 7's missions have been too easy! I want a more, you know hot one! Where I can shine! That follows my ninja path! And my heart like... !" Naruto's eyes burned with passionate and enthusiasm.

"Yeah yeah... *sigh*... I pretty much know what you're going to say," Kakashi said, as he sweat dropped.

Naruto looked over at Sasuke on the right, who then constantly looked back with an annoyed expression.

_"Damn it... This guy always make me look bad and stealing the spotlight... I won't lose!" Naruto thought hopefully._

_"Jeez, Naruto... When will you ever learn?" Sakura thought of her loud-mouthed friend_.

_"Today, I want to...," Naruto thought of him being the greatest ninja than Sasuke, "'Pft... can't you take care of yourself?'... Say something like that."_

"Hey, Naruto. What are you doing? Let's go," Sakura said.

"Oh yeah," he said, feeling dumb.

"You really are annoying today!"

When Team 7 headed on D-rank missions doing small jobs, Naruto states that he will beat Sasuke in the missions, but ends up getting into trouble and is even saved by Sasuke from falling down waterfall.

"Day's mission completed... haa," Naruto sighed in exhaustion while Sakura was helping him to walk.

"It's because you push yourself too much," she said.

"Pft... can't you take care of yourself," Sasuke said calmly, which pissed Naruto the most.

"God dammnit Zazgue!" Naruto yelled in anger and frustration just when Sakura confronted him.

"If you don't calm down, I'll finish you off myself," Sakura yelled and thought, "Can you just relax for a bit, Naruto?"

"Hmm... Teamwork seems to be suffering lately," Kakashi said tiredly.

"Yeah! Yeah! You're the one ruining our teamwork, Sasuke! Always hogging the spotlight, you bastard!" Naruto yelled in envy as he clenched his fist.

"That's you, you moron. If you want me to stop making you look bad... *paused*... then just become stronger than me," he said seriously as he looked back at Naruto, who was stunned by his words.

_"They're somehow worse than before," Sakura thought worriedly._

_"Damn it, there are tons of guys stronger than me out there, yet I have to do these stupid missions," Sasuke thought in disappointment and frustration while Kakashi looked at him curiously._

From that moment on, a messenger hawk flew across the sky just when Kakashi saw it by the minute and closed his "Make-out Tactics" book.

"Ok, that's it for today. I have to go submit this mission report," he said immediately.

"Then, I'm going home," Sasuke said, walking away from them.

"Oh! Hey Sasuke, wait! How about right now," Sakura went after him while Naruto tries to go after her. "We work on our teamwork, just the two of us," she said flirtatiously.

"You're the same as Naruto," Sasuke said, not caring at her offer.

_ 'SAME AS NARUTO,' which echoed through her mind while her inner was carrying an imaginary heavy rock._ "Instead of flirting, practice a jutsu or two. Frankly, your ability is below Naruto," he said, which made her feel disappointed as the rock gets heavier that her inner was carrying. Then, Sasuke walked away leaving her standing in dismay.

_"He's right... In every mission, I do the least," She thought as her mouth gaped open._

"Sakura! Forget Sasuke, let's train together!" Naruto said happily, waving behind her as soon as Kakashi left in a puff of smoke.

_"Huh? Sensei's gone? Is he giving us some alone time?" Naruto thought happily._

"Ok! I won't lose to Sasuke! Time to train!" Naruto said. Later on, he noticed that Konohamaru and his friends were chasing him with a fake rock.

"I act like I'm looking forward... but feint! What kind of rock is square with two holes! I see right through that!" Naruto yelled and pointed out, as they revealed themselves.

"That's the man I view as my rival!" Konohamaru said arrogantly, crossing both arms.

"Oh, it's you Konohamaru," he said, putting his arms back of his head and asks, "huh? What's with the googles?"

"Hehe, we're copying the old you, bro!" Konohamaru said in triumphant, holding it in front of his forehead.

"Ahh...," Naruto doesn't seem to be amused by that.

"What do you mean 'Ah'!? Hey! You're cold lately bro!" Konohamaru exclaimed suddenly.

"So... what do you want?" He asked, not caring at all.

"Umm... leader, are you free?" Moegin asked.

"See... he's cold," Konohamaru whispered to Udon.

"Nope! I'm training!" Naruto said.

"WHAT!? But you said you'd play ninja with us today!" Konohamaru complained.

_"If I play with them, it will take all day," he thought_.

"Um... why would a ninja 'play' ninja?" Sakura said, feeling down a while ago as she approached them and gazed at Naruto and thought, _"I'm below him...?*sigh* Sasuke's right._

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

"Hey bro, who's this girl?!" Konohamaru asked, he thought for a moment, "She's staring at bro like she wants to eat him alive." Then, he came to realization. "Not bad boss...," he grinned as he patted him on the shoulder and asks, "is she your girlfriend?" As he held his pinky finger, Sakura became irritated by this.

"Wow... You can tell that she's crazy about me," Naruto said, blushing and rubbing the back of his head just when Sakura punched him in outburst.

"WRONG!" She shouted, when he landed on the yard fence, which almost crumbled the wood into pieces.

"BOSS!" Udon cried out.

"How dare you! Konohamaru yelled at her as he and his friends made their way to Naruto, who was groaning painfully.

"NO! Leader! Don't die!" Udon yelled.

"What kind of girlfriend are you, you ugly-" Konohamaru paused when he felt her inner go into madness and the aura surrounding her, which frightened him.

From that moment on, Sakura walked away from them after she punched him.

"Konohamaru, are you alright?" Udon asked concernedly.

"Damn it... That ugly huge forehead... Is that really a girl? Seriously, bro?" Konohamaru gritted his teeth in pain.

Sakura stopped in dead tracks when she turned her head showing her evil smile and began chasing them until Konohamaru ran into an older boy.

"That hurts," the older boy said, looking down at Konohamaru, who's been lifted off the ground.

"Konohamaru!" Naruto cried out.

Sakura's heart stopped as she stared at the older boy, who looked a bit familiar.

"That hurt, you little twerp!" He said, still holding him up from his blue scarf.

"Don't, Kankuro. We'll get yelled at later," Temari said, looking to a direction.

_"Kankuro, Temari?! I remembered them!" Sakura thought happily. "I'm sorry, I was just messing around_."

"Hey, you jerk! Let go of him!" Naruto yelled at him.

Kankuro ignored him as he looked at his forehead protector, "hmm... Looks like a leaf genin," he thought.

"Let's play a little before the boss comes," Kankuro said smirking evilly.

"Bastard!" Naruto charged at him, but he suddenly fell back when Kankuro used his finger to trip him.

_"Whoa!" He exclaimed, "what was that?" He thought, puzzled for a moment._

"Oh, leaf genins... are weak," Kankuro said, still smirking.

"Why is he acting like a jerk? And why are they doing here?" Sakura questioned in mind.

"Konohamaru!" Moegi and Udon cried out.

"Let go of me!" He demanded.

"Hey, you fat pig! If you don't let him go, I'll make you pay!" Naruto pointed out.

"You idiot! What are you thinking!?" Sakura thought as she strangled him with her arms.

"Hey, you're annoying," Kankuro said and continued, "basically, I hate midgets especially younger ones that are rude... makes me want to kill them."

Naruto and Sakura were shocked by his words, which scared Moegi and Udon.

_"I hope he didn't mean that," Sakura thought._

"Oh well, I'm not involved in this," Temari sighed.

"You bastard!" Naruto yelled annoyingly.

"Well, after this one I'll take care of that other annoying midget!" Kankuro said nastily. Just as he was about to finish Konohamaru, Sasuke saved him by pelting Kankuro with a rock.

"Hey!"

"What are you guys doing in our village?" Sasuke asked, sitting in the tree branch and tossing the pebble back up and down.

"Sasuke!" Sakura squealed in delight. Kankuro, on the other hand, didn't seems to be surprised by his presence.

_"Well, well, well,... look ol' hottie," Temari thought as her cheeks turned pink._

"Another guy that pisses me off," he said.

"Get lost!" Sasuke told him.

"So cool!" Sakura said happily as well as Moegi and Udon.

"Naruto, bro... you suck. I believed in you," Konohamaru pointed as he cried in anime tears and pout angrily away from him.

"No, hehe. I could easily defeat that guy!" Naruto said reassuringly. "Damn you Sasuke! Why are you always making me look bad?!" He thought angrily.

"Hey punk, get down here!" Kankuro called Sasuke, who simply narrowed his eyes at him.

"I hate show-offs like you the most," he said, as he pulls out the puppet off of his back.

"Hey, you even going to use Karasu right now?" Temari asked.

"Enough, Kankuro," a voice commanded him behind the other side of the tree, which startled Sasuke and the others. "You're an embarrassment to our village," he said, standing upside down on the tree branch.

Sakura's heart stopped for a moment. Her eyes widened in shocked and surprised all of a sudden when her eyes landed on the person who spoked.

_"Gaara," she thought, feeling overwhelmed but only to look at him differently. This was her first time of seeing him again._


End file.
